Sunday, July 13, 2008

The Future Themes

Part of the coming change in the over all consciousness of the planet will begin to reveal itself in the major themes of movies. With the rise of feminism there has been substantive changes in labor roles based on gender. With these changes we have passed through a phase of changing sexual relations. The understanding of sexual relations is still undergoing change, as genuine knowledge of the effect of sex and spiritual growth becomes more well articulated in modern experience. The conflicting view points, of Christianity, of modern attitudes, and of ancient spiritual science will become reconciled and a new basis for truth accepted. One aspect of this has been that marriage has changed, and many people go through several relationships in their lifetime. The economic dependence of women on men, something which is still understood in our social memory, has shifted and both genders have had to adjust their roles. Strong motivation around the ideal relationship will begin to lose its force, especially sexual desire as the basis for a meaningful substantive ideal. The motivation and appeal of characters will be less focused on who they are going to fuck, or marry, or get to know and be with. Though we might be able to imagine Harrison Ford defending his family from death by the hands of criminals motivated by greed. These strong motive forces are primal, it will be harder to interest people in sexual relations as the basis for stories as the consciousness rises because these too are merely strong lower drives.

Imagine advertising not dominated by sex, or movie glamour not based on physical appearance. It is getting harder to imagine, outside of the coming of age story involving a character motivated solely by love. Even in a story of an adolescent coming into adulthood, these stories of young love are mixed with the seeds of finding their true identity, usually pictured as a job. But their identity, their dream, a mixture of social economic circumstances, recognition, or sense of being based on what they do, will have to have a self conscious awareness of their spiritual growth. Now there is a focus on the problems of social and parental expectation, angst, with a the suggestion that perhaps the character has a special talent, a complex set of forces that set up drama. In place of these problems, authenticity will take on a new dimension as the creative focus for the play of events. For instance the movie High Fidelity, starring John Cusack, has a number of elements about a search for some different basis of living that isn’t primarily motivated by relationships.

The new themes will be more involved with the discovery of the inner being of the person and the seeing of how the person is unfolding in their evolution. Why did the person create this situation and why do these relationships work? What in them attracted these people in their lives? The main way of creating identity with the character will come from the qualities they offer and the types of relationships they attract, the sets of problems to be solved as a growth of their being. Not a goal to fulfil a role. This will be set off by the amount of consciousness, the cooperation with growth that the character gives. Under the present conditions, this type of movie would seem dull and boring, because there is not enough suffering. More than the transformation of the character, there will be a common element of what is the limit of this power of transformation, and how their own self conscious development is involved. Not simply looking back at the change, but looking forward to it consciously and understanding. Stories will not be as problem oriented as solution oriented. Stories that have an element of wisdom, a more intimate truth will gain in value.

This is visible at this time, as a foreshadow, though it can only be glimpsed. There may be moments of the forerunners, but the fullness of this is still years away. There maybe people working on these stories, realizing this new movement, but they will not yet be in fashion able to be seen and appreciated. Their stories, inspired from something higher will not yet be able to take form. Also, the view of the combination of talent of a performer, and the quality of story will become separated in vision from the personal power of the person. A woman with a certain set of traits that make her physical appearance attractive, may have a talent for acting. A woman who is not a valued natural physical beauty may be able to use makeup to make up for less than pleasing physical features and thus use her talent. But part of the change will come when the makeup, and talent will be evaluated with a new element. The power from which the person is able to create their circumstances from their own being. The self they bring. This will be realism. It will be easier to see through the physical appearance to the quality of the inner being of the person in the role, their use of their instrument, what we call talent. Their physical characteristics will begin to diminish in its importance, even how well they act as a skill.

It is hard to imagine. It is easier to imagine that a primarily physical appeal will seem cardboard, false. It is easier to imagine that you can sense the superficial quality, no matter how trained and practice that the lift of an eyebrow is, if there is not a real person creating the situation, bringing themselves to play the role of that part in that story, a special affinity to that part. Their acting will appear technical, and lack an essential quality of beauty, of truth, of art, of the SELF beyond the individual. Stories that lack a wider and deeper spiritual contact will not satisfy. They will not have the universal elements and themes that people find meaningful if the actors and producers and the people behind it aren’t really apart of it. That special feeling that comes to some productions when they all share a common bond, will be magnified. They will not only feel the special bond, but they will be aware of why that bond exists and why they needed to be in that place and experience that unfolding. The audience will recognize it.

The quality will be that everyone will aim to rise, and that ability to rise and to help others will be the value, THE value.